Life's Obstacles
by Titch98
Summary: Rose has some big news for the Doctor (Tentoo), but he doesn't take it too well. Will they be able to overcome this and work together to get through this obstacle, or will it tear them apart for good. Updates weekly. Terrible summary. Rated M because I'm paranoid and it may contain mature content in later chapters.


Chapter 1: A Big Change

Three months ago, her whole world had changed. Three months ago, she'd been reunited with her Doctor for the first time in three years. Saw him standing at the end of that dark and ghostly road with the fiery red head. The look on his face. The pure happiness she felt at being reunited with the man she loved. Then they saved the world. Standard. Then he took her, Jackie and the metacrisis version of himself back to the parallel world. He'd given them a piece of the TARDIS coral; Donna had given them advice on how to speed up the process of growing their own TARDIS – a TARDIS that was currently in the form of a Rubik's cube at Torchwood. He had said that they could continue to have adventures together, _The Doctor in the TARDIS, with Rose Tyler. Just as it should be._ Rose thought of all the possibilities, but she hadn't been convinced, the Metacrisis had told her that he was the same, but Rose hadn't seen it. Only when she'd had both identical men stand opposite one another and questioned them did she truly understand. This fully Time Lord Doctor could never admit his true feelings as he would continue living even when she'd been long since dead and gone, but the part human Doctor could give her his forever. When the Time Lord had refused to finish his sentence, she'd turned to the part human Doctor. He'd uttered the word's she'd longed to hear for years. _Rose Tyler, I love you too._

She made her choice right then and there on the spot. A life with love. She chose the man who'd told her how he'd felt. She chose the man who could love her unconditionally. She chose the man who could spend the rest of his life with her, and she with him. Pulling the blue suited Doctor in for a passion filled kiss. When that magnificent blue box left, the pang of pain wasn't as hard to bear as it had been the first time on that dreaded beach, because this time she had a hand to hold her own.

Those memories would forever be a treasured time in her life. But since being in the parallel universe, Rose realised, it wasn't the adventure she had missed. It was the man that had been housed in that magic box. The man who had grabbed her hand in a dingey shop basement and told her to _run_. A man who had burst into flames and become rude but no ginger. A man who had incredible locks of brown hair that she had fantasised about running her fingers through. Now, he had become a man who whispered in her ear, _'I love you too_.'

Travelling home from Bad Wolf Bay had been a silent journey. Rose had sat with the Doctor the whole journey, her head rested on his chest, and his single heart beat had lulled her to sleep. Jackie had silently spoken to Pete on the phone the entire journey, asking about how Tony was whilst she'd been away.

When they got back to London, they'd agreed with Jackie that they'd spend the night at the Tyler mansion, it had been an incredibly tiresome day for all involved. Pete greeted them at the door of the mansion, Jackie had informed him on the phone of all the changes; Lack of Mickey, the Doctor being a human Doctor, why Rose was still with them – they'd all expected her to stay with the Doctor.

Rose and the Doctor – she couldn't see him as anything else – agreed that they would play things by ear and see how things would work out. Things were still fresh between the two and they hadn't seen each other in three years – including the year that never was, as for Rose, it was.

The first week of the Doctor being on this new universe was filled with all the boring stuff, getting the Doctor a job, getting all the basic paperwork that he needed to become a citizen, moving him into Rose's London flat – just slightly bigger than what she and Jackie had on the Powell Estate – and a backstory. They settled for him having a job at Torchwood in the Medical department, the Doctor working as a doctor. There he'd met his colleagues; Ewan, Heather and, much to his delight, Martha Jones.

Yes, the Martha Jones of this world was a doctor too, but she worked in Torchwood rather than UNIT and had two brothers, Trey and Leo.

The second week the Doctor and Rose had some alone time, the Doctor wasn't due to start at Torchwood until all of his paperwork had been through the correct procedure, and Rose hadn't been expected back at Torchwood, at all. This alone time had felt awkward, they'd fallen into the routine of going on small walks around this universe's London, but they'd never gotten too close. By Saturday, that had changed, as Rose slid her hand into his and entwined their fingers. "Like ol' times, yeah?" she'd smiled up at him, that gorgeous smile that caused the corners of his lips to raise in agreement.

By the fourth week, a month of the Doctor being in this world, they'd had their first proper kiss. It had happened at one of Jackie's parties, Pete's birthday, to be more precise. Rose had been dressed in a black halter dress that stopped mid-thigh. She'd looked beautiful, and he'd told her as much, "What for a human?" she questioned with a teasing grin. But the look in his eye told her he meant more than that. So she once again pulled him down by the lapels of his dress jacket for a deep snog.

Three weeks prior to that and another party held by Jackie had seen them clumsily making their way into their shared flat to embark on their first time together. They'd been making suggestive remarks to one another all throughout the day, and whilst at the party, with the Doctor wearing slim fit jeans that fit his pert arse nicely, and Rose wearing a dress that gave the Doctor a perfect view of her lovely toned legs, each of them sporting a glaring red mark in areas barely concealed by the clothes. It had all been too much, and the arousal the pair felt had reached and past its tipping point.

They'd become very adventurous in their bedroom activities from that moment onwards. There was barely a day that they didn't find themselves in an uncompromising position. Having been caught by Pete once, and having a close call with Rose's three-year-old brother, Tony, they were glad that so far, Jaqueline Tyler had yet to catch them.

But all these weeks of progress had led to something monumental changing in their lives. The Doctor was sat in their room at the foot of the bed fiddling with some alien tech that Torchwood had acquired from one of their negotiations with a new race they'd met. He'd been given a sonic screwdriver of his own during one of his own successful negotiations with the leader of a race who collected sonic probes. He smiled for days after he'd gotten his useful tool back.

Rose was sat in the en-suite bathroom, her hands bracing herself against the counter of the sink as she took in several deep breaths. She'd been feeling nauseous for a couple of weeks now and had been putting off telling the Doctor, believing that it was just a sickness bug that was passing around in Torchwood, or food poisoning. But Jackie hadn't stopped nagging Rose, and so she'd finally relented today and bought the bleedin' test whilst she was out with her mother.

She chuckled lightly to herself at the absurdity of it all. The alarm on her phone went off, signalling that the test was ready. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, before she looked down.

_**Positive**_

"Shit." Rose whispers. But it's not disappointment Rose feels, and she finds that disconcerting. Rose feels anything but disappointed. But the most surprising emotion of all is the pure joy.

Running the tap and washing her hands with hot water she stared at her face in the mirror. Pregnant. She was pregnant with the Doctors baby. How would he react? Would he be angry with her? Happy? Scared? Disappointed? Either way, it was no point hiding in the bathroom. She had to face the music.

He was still sat where she'd left him last. His brainy specs resting on the end of his nose, his wild hair looking like it had been ruffled beyond style, and the top three buttons of his oxford shirt were unbuttoned. The sight was so attractive that she almost lost her trail of thought and forgot what she was about to tell him. He looks up, a big smile gracing his features, "Hello. You alright? You were in the bathroom longer than usual, is everything okay?" his face forms a slight frown and her trance is broken by his question.

_It's too soon._ Her mind is screaming at her. _He won't want this._

Pushing the thoughts from her mind she pulls the stick out from behind her, holding it out in front of her. "Mum… mums been worried about… how unwell I've been feeling… recently. I never told you because I thought it was nothing. But mum convinced me to get one, and… well…" she stammers.

"Well, what?" The Doctor asks softly when Rose doesn't continue.

"I think I might be pregnant." She whispers. If the room were full of noise her voice would've gone unnoticed, but in this room with just the two of them, the words are the loudest thing the Doctor has heard in a while.

"You think?" He asks, his eyes wide and a confused frown.

"Well, I took the test…" Rose offers him the test, he springs from his feet and dashes over to grab the test from her. Rose watches his face for a reaction growing more and more concerned when he says nothing. She rubs her arms up and down out of nervousness, "Well say something then." She prompts.

Instead of answering her, or speaking or saying anything, the Doctor backs up until the backs of hi knees hit the bed and he falls onto the bed in a sitting position, his eyes glued to the word on the stick in his hands. Then Rose's world comes crashing around her as he murmurs the words she was dreading, "No. No, no, no, no. You can't be pregnant." He furiously runs his hands through his hair, no malice in his voice or action, but dread, and no sign of happiness. "Rose, you can't be pregnant." He looks up at her, and back down at her stomach, and she swears she see's disgust in his eyes. She see's red.

"Well, I am apparently. So, you're going to have to tell me what about that makes you so unhappy." She snaps, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive manner.

"I'm unhappy because we didn't plan this! We never discussed having children together. I didn't even think it possible. Is it even mine?" He asks, and instantly regrets the question when the look of pure rage flits through her features, closely followed by sheer hurt.

"How dare you! I-"

"I know, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." He cuts in, leaning his head to rest on his hands as they perch on his knees. "But surely you understand where I'm coming from, right?" He asks, looking up at her. At her confused expression he continues, "We're not ready. _I'm _not ready. I've only been fully human for three months, a week, and three days. I've only been living here on this earth for just less than that. I'm only just getting used to having curtains!" He shouts pointing to said object, "I can't help you raise another human, I'm barely human myself!"

"So what are you saying, Doctor?" there are tears in her eyes, the words are on the tip of her tongue, but the angry hot tears are stopping them from being said. "You want me to get rid of it? _Our_ child!" she screams as the tears break the barrier and trail down her cheeks.

Seeing those tears on her face has the Doctor jumping to his feet and stepping towards her to comfort her, only for her to step back away from him. He's an arse. But he's a scared arse. "Rose I-" he loses his wording, moving back to the bed, "I want to have a family with you one day. But, Rose, I'm not ready to be a dad yet. It's too soon."

"But… you told me you've been a dad before." She walks towards him, lowering to her knees on the floor to sit before him, placing both her hands on his knees.

"That was different, Rose. _I_ was different. That was when I was a Time Lord, I understood that life, and even then… Rose, I was an awful father to my children then. Imagine me as a father of a human child." His voice is soft.

Reaching up from her place at his feet to cup his cheek, she gives him a small reassuring smile, "But, you'll have me. Doctor we'll have each other, like we always do."

Looking down at her, his eyes seem hollow and void of all emotion, he wants to reach towards her and say _fuck it all _and crush her body to his and give her the fiercest kiss possible,but something holds him back. His paralysing anxiety of the situation stopping him dead. A brief look into those hazel eyes and he needs to escape, "I can't." he simply tells her as he flees from the room.

Rose doesn't move from her position on the floor, just stares at the bed, eyes filling with tears.

The Doctor rushes towards the kitchen. He needs a drink. Tea. Tea always helped him to sort out his thoughts when everything began to get too much. Back on the TARDIS, when everything caught up with him, or they'd lost someone during an adventure he'd always found tea to be quite soothing. Super-heated infusion of free-radicals and tannins.

But as he reaches to fill the kettle he stops. Maybe tea won't be enough this time. Maybe he'd need something a little stronger. And air. Fresh air. The flat could become quite claustrophobic when having a nervous breakdown, and at least that's what he thought he was having. Looking at the door to the bedroom the Doctor thought of telling Rose he was going out. There was a local pub nearby and he'd been there with Rose on a couple of occasions. But this time he needed space. Space to wrap his head around everything and make up his mind.

He decided against telling Rose right as he stood outside the door of their room, his hand elevated to knock on the wood, turning on his heel to pick up his keys and threw on his jacket, a leather one Rose had brought with him on their first shopping trip.

From inside the bedroom, Rose had moved from the floor to the bed. She sat at the end of the bed staring at the door. When she heard the front door close all the tears she'd been holding back came flooding through, and sobs wracked through her body. Shaking slightly, she crawled from the end of the bed to lie her head on her pillow, her hand slowly glides across his side of the bed and rests on his pillow.

For the next hour, as she waits to hear the door open again, she goes through the motions. Feeling varying emotions ranging from regret to anger, to fear and mild loathing until she finally settles her hand on her flat abdomen and feels anticipation wipe away all the negative emotions.

Entering the pub, the Doctor had a sudden feeling of insecurity. Usually when he walked into this establishment, he'd had his beautiful Rose with him, guiding him through all the do's and don'ts. Without having Rose here the Doctor suddenly had the urge to withdraw and retreat back to the safety of his flat. The pungent fumes of liquor overwhelmed his senses. Turning to leave he was stopped at the sound of a familiar feminine voice.

"Hello handsome. Fancy seeing you here." Christina.

Christina worked at Torchwood as well. She worked in the artefacts department, analysing and caring for all the alien artefacts that Torchwood received. The Doctor had met Christina many times over his time working at Torchwood. She was a very attractive young woman with a fiery stubbornness and a solid determination to get whatever she wanted. The problem was, Christina and Rose didn't get along, and Christina had made it no secret she liked the Doctor.

Turning to face the woman, he gave her a slightly forced smile, "Christina, yes. Well, actually I was just leaving, I have to be up early tomorrow for… well… you know… work." He stammered as she began to walk closer to him, there was an obviously flirtatious sway to her hips.

"But you just got here." Christina pouts, dusting some imaginary lint off the Doctors jacket. "Come, have a drink with me. Surely one won't do you any harm." She tugs lightly on his hand.

Relenting with hesitation the Doctor allows her to pull him over to the bar, "Alright, but just one. I do have things to get back for, and there is a lot going on right now." The Doctor winced; he knew he'd almost let it slip about his argument with Rose. Knowing Christina, she'd jump at the chance to get involved in an argument between the Doctor and Rose.

"Well that's no fun." Christina winks at him with a sly smile. "Oh alright fine, just one drink. But you have to drink with me. This is the first time I've seen you without Ruby-"

"Rose." The Doctor corrects.

"Rose… clinging to your arm. Maybe now, we can finally have a proper conversation, without her hanging onto our every word." Christina strokes his arm slightly, and the Doctor has to shift slightly to move his arm away from her. He clears his throat and then proceeds to order his drink.

However, it quickly became obvious, that one drink would rapidly become five and before he knew it he was being assisted out by Christina. Christina had one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders as she hauled him through to the lifts of his flat building. "What floor?" she asked looking at the buttons.

"10."

"The top?" Christina asked in disbelief.

"WHa?" the Doctor drawled, frowning up at her. Christina shakes her head as the man sways side to side.

Once the lift reaches the tenth floor Christina pulls him along with her towards his flat, after asking him once again which number. Once they were stood outside of the royal blue door – TARDIS blue, Rose had told him proudly – Christina waited beside the Doctor. The baffled look only causing her to giggle. The childlike giggle quickly became a sultry gaze, before she pushed him into the door of his flat and pressed her lips roughly against his, moving her lips against his, then he begins to kiss back.

The sound of a moan is what snaps him out of it, and he pushes her back roughly, his liquor induced haze fading momentarily as he glares at her, "Don't do that. No. Rose… she…" he begins, his words forming nicely until he mentions Rose, then all his words become slurs. "Sheeeeee iss…. Pppp-"

Christina stops him, putting her finger on his lip. "I get it." She pushes his face back with that finger and wipes it on his shirt. "Maybe you'll call me, the next time she pisses you off." She winks.

"No." is the Doctors only response, to which Christina rolls her eyes and walks way.

Fishing his keys from his jacket he fumbles around before slotting the silver jagged metal into the slot. Stumbling into the flat he turns and shushes coffee table he stumbled over. Closing the door, he then proceeds to shush that too. Walking through the deafly silent flat he completely forgets the argument he and Rose had had earlier on and in favour, flops down on the end of the bed, all his clothes having been discarded on his journey to the bed.

Rose stirs from her sleep when she feels the bed dip and hears the loud snores coming from the man. The Doctor only ever snores that loud when there's been alcohol involved. She sighs, wiping her cold, damp, tear stained face, "Oh, Doctor." She whispers into the night.

**A/N: **

**So, here we have it. My first chapter of my first DW fanfic, _and _my first fanfic in a couple of years. **

**I've been on a very long hiatus from writing stories due to my mental health.**

**I have had depression and anxiety for the past few years and have only recently started to seek counselling. I'm not fully recovered yet, but my counsellor has told me to try and start writing again, so here is my first attempt.**

**I'm always grateful for constructive criticism and love to read reviews. I feel honesty is the best policy, so if you feel like my grammar is off, or the story is bad, then please feel free to tell me. **

**Thank you ever so much for taking the time to read this chapter.**

**K x**


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